Incline Press

I think the weakest part of my entire body is my upper chest. I have been doing incline alot more over the past year or 2 in my chest routine, but still no growth. My question is, what angle of incline do you think maximizes the most potential out of your upper chest. A B C - an explanation as why would be wonderful too

edit: I currently do something a little higher than C just to clarify.

Our barbell incline bench at my gym is angled most like B I would say, so I do it quite a bit. I feel it better on the adjustable bench doing dumbbells when it is like C or just slightly above. Wish our Barbell incline was adjustable.

The steeper the incline the more your anterior delts will play a role in lifting the weight. So "A" is definately out of the question. And I still think 45 degrees is too steep. So no to "B" as well. I've heard 30 degrees is ideal. This leaves option "C", which is just about the angle I use when doing incline presses, but a tad too flat IMO. Somewhere between "B" and "C" is my answer.

Ok, I'd say somewhere between B and C. You might want to try dropping the weight, using TUT, and really focusing on squeezing upper chest. Once you get the mind/muscle connection down you can start adding weight.

I have really enjoyed a dumbbell chest routine that involves working up in weight at a high incline (fairly close to A), then lowering the incline a set at a time to try to continue working the high weight. Followup exercise is DB Flys at approx level C.

Have done this type of routine for a few weeks at a time for a little over a year now..... strength increase has kept me happy enough to keep going back.

Another favorite of mine to get a pump is a level a or b incline: doing cable flys. This is dependent on the quality and options on the cable crossover at your local gym. The gym I am at now..... this isn't possible, due to a crossover that is not wide enough, and isn't very adjustable.

I remember reading an article years back (when I was still wasting money on BB'ing mags) where Dorian Yates said he trained almost exclusively with "C" not just inclines,, but C and thats basically it.

Arnold used to hit upper chest from every angle he could...One of my favorite 'upper chest blast' routines is to start at ~45 degrees, and do DB incline press/flye super sets dropping the bench one notch with each set.

Arnold used to hit upper chest from every angle he could...One of my favorite 'upper chest blast' routines is to start at ~45 degrees, and do DB incline press/flye super sets dropping the bench one notch with each set.

BV

Excellent point, Sergio Olivia used to say that the best angle/hand placement for an excercise is one that is different from the last one you used.

I like A. It gives you that BB look on your chest, plus I do shoulders in the same w/o so why not go for it! At this point, I can press as much weight with A as my flat bench, and my AD's don't look too stupid. You should do all 3 plus a decline for complete, symmetrical development though.

bohica, like a few of the others have mentioned, have you tried DB inclines? i think most gyms have an incline set up to about where 'B' is. but with dumbbells, you can generally adjust your incline to however the hell you want it.

For the past year I've been doing DB incline's on a 45 degree angle... Three weeks ago I switched to a 30 degree angle.... Huge difference, I've had DOMS in my pecs ever since I switched. It only last a day or two, but I know it's working.

hey jim, just for fyi, a year of the same exercise is too long IMO. but looks like you figured that out already, so onward........

Let me rephrase that.... I was doing incline BB bench presses for about 6 months and switched over to incline DB presses ( I like them much better).... I do mix up my workout every 6-8 weeks but I have always included incline presses.... Maybe 6-8 weeks I will do flat BB bench presses and the other 6-8 weeks will switch over to decline presses. I will also try to incorporate 3-4 exercises into my chest workout .... 3 sets of each.( experimenting high reps at the moment) 15-20 reps for the shock.... Then I will switch back over to 8-10 reps in a couple weeks.... This is my chest work out at the moment.

Flat bench press. 3x15

Incline DB bench press 30 degree's 3x15

Flat DB fly's 3x20

forward dips. till fail.

In 4-5 weeks it may look like this.

Decline bench press 3x8/10

Incline DB bench press (trying at a different degree this time) 3x8/10

Incline DB fly's. 3x8/10

But yes your right, Incline presses at the same angle for such a long time isn't good... I will be switching my angle every 6-8 weeks now.... Thanks.

bohica, like a few of the others have mentioned, have you tried DB inclines? i think most gyms have an incline set up to about where 'B' is. but with dumbbells, you can generally adjust your incline to however the hell you want it.

in any case, sounds like a change to your routine is in order.

I only do Dumbbells for incline. I'm going to change the angle up after every set the next couple weeks to see how that feels. Thanks everyone for the input.

I did a new chest workout Monday since I couldn't make it to the gym Sunday.. (Gotta love Mondays - National Chest Day)

I went like one notch higher than option B and after every set of 6, I would lower it a notch. I worked all the way down to one notch before totally flat which was 4 sets, then went back up for 2 sets. My chest had never felt like this before. It was just dead and was quivering the rest of the night. Woke up yesterday and the whole chest is sore!! . I can hardly squeeze the upper region without wanting to cry.

I did these all on smith machine to give it a try and couldn't ever get over 7 reps each set.

I finished the workout with 2 sets of 6-8 of heavy pec-deck and I will be sure to do this workout again next week!!

I think the weakest part of my entire body is my upper chest. I have been doing incline alot more over the past year or 2 in my chest routine, but still no growth. My question is, what angle of incline do you think maximizes the most potential out of your upper chest. A B C - an explanation as why would be wonderful too

edit: I currently do something a little higher than C just to clarify.

This is probably going to get me a few hate posts, but front shoulder barbell presses helped me get past a sticking point with my upper chest strength and size.

A lot of people will probably call bull**** on this one, but hey it worked really well for me. Try it and see what happens.

P.S. Don't do it during your chest routine do it while you're doing shoulders.

Na I agree with you bro - strengthening the front delts is going to help you push up the weight on the incline press.

I went like one notch higher than option B and after every set of 6, I would lower it a notch. I worked all the way down to one notch before totally flat which was 4 sets, then went back up for 2 sets. My chest had never felt like this before. It was just dead and was quivering the rest of the night. Woke up yesterday and the whole chest is sore!! . I can hardly squeeze the upper region without wanting to cry.

Seems like everyone in this thread is trying a new chest workout! I did too - started off with flat bench, then moved to DB Incline/ DB Fly supersets working my way down in angle until the last set. I could barely do flys with a pair of 40's!! Finished off with Weighted Dips and tricep pressdowns...it worked well!

The shoulder press and developing front delts for improvements in chest size could work for some people, and not for others. Its entirely up to your body.

For example, a person with naturally weak front deltoids is going to be held back on the bench because they will give hardly any assistance. Whereas, someone like me, who has WAY overpowering front delts doesnt get any help from it because I have a hard enough time as it is trying to convince my front delts not to do the work. lol

Its gotten so bad for me, mys houlders hurt. My front delts sit probably 1.5" above my biceps when I flex, and they're way out of proportion with my rears and medials, so, during the day, they're constantly pulling forward and causing pain in the joint. I'm trying hard to fix this.

O/T, but on bench, my chest and front delts are very powerful and perform the lion's share of the work, and then I've got these weak ass triceps. EVERY time my tri's give WAY before my chest is worn out.

So, right now, I'm in this ****ed up state where a few of my muscles are out of balance and proportion, and its really annoying to me...lol...sorry for the o/t rant.

O/T, but on bench, my chest and front delts are very powerful and perform the lion's share of the work, and then I've got these weak ass triceps. EVERY time my tri's give WAY before my chest is worn out.

So, right now, I'm in this ****ed up state where a few of my muscles are out of balance and proportion, and its really annoying to me...lol...sorry for the o/t rant.

That's the exact opposite from me! My front delts suck, but triceps are pretty strong. I have a decent chest, but my bench press sucks ass.